Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is planning to add 600 new financial advisors in 2026, with roughly one-third of these new hires expected to join the virtual team.
The Minneapolis-based insurer and financial services provider said the latest recruitment drive is aimed at meeting growing client demand for “purpose-based advice”. The 600 roles will be in addition to those filled in 2025, when Thrivent surpassed an earlier goal of adding 600 advisors.
Nick Cecere, executive vice president and chief distribution officer, said the move comes against a backdrop of a tightening talent market. He added that the industry is facing a “talent shortage” and advisors are “making it clear” they want flexibility, resources, and support.
“Thrivent has more than 2.5 times the industry retention rate because we provide financial advisers with unrivaled support, the right capabilities and a collaborative environment,” Cecere said in a statement. “Thrivent has created a place where advisers can grow their businesses and build purposeful, long-lasting careers, regardless of where they are in their professional journey.”
Thrivent’s planned growth comes amid relatively modest expansion in advisor headcount across the broader US wealth management sector.
Industry data over the past decade showed total financial advisor numbers have been largely flat, with slow net growth offset by a wave of expected retirements and high early-career attrition. Thrivent has previously pointed to an industry growth rate of about 0.3% a year and characterized overall advisor numbers as essentially unchanged over the past 10 years.
Against that backdrop, Thrivent's earlier target of growing its advisor force by 2% in 2025 -- and now hiring another 600 in 2026 -- positions the company on a faster expansion trajectory than many peers, particularly among insurance-affiliated advisory platforms.
Thrivent said it is recruiting advisors across a range of affiliation models, including traditional employee roles, solo practices, team-based structures, and advisors aligned with independent registered investment advisors.
The firm said it is open to candidates entering the profession for the first time, career changers, and experienced industry veterans. Thrivent emphasized that advisors can shift between affiliation models as their practices develop without leaving the company, positioning that flexibility as a differentiator in a competitive talent market.
That approach is in line with broader US trends, where independent and hybrid RIA channels have been among the fastest-growing segments for advisor headcount as practitioners seek more autonomy over business ownership, branding, and client service models.
Thrivent’s hiring plans also sit against the structural challenge of an aging advisor population in the US advisory and insurance sectors. Multiple studies have highlighted that a significant share of financial advisors are over age 55 and that a large portion are expected to retire over the next decade, raising succession concerns for firms that rely heavily on relationship-driven distribution.
At the same time, early-career washout rates in many advisor training programs remain high, making it difficult for firms to grow net headcount even when they invest heavily in recruitment.
In that context, Thrivent’s emphasis on multiple entry points, a formal virtual channel, and the ability to move between affiliation models without exiting the organization positions its strategy as one potential response to industry-wide talent and succession pressures.
